


Everything

by wendyindahouse



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Misunderstandings, Shipper!Sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-13 07:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2141913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendyindahouse/pseuds/wendyindahouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean has been hiding his feelings for his best friend Castiel.  Despite his worry that it could change things between them, he finally gets up the courage to invite Castiel to prom, but he could never have predicted the force of Castiel's reaction, nor just how badly it would hurt to have his heart broken.  </p>
<p>It's left to Sam to pick his way through the misunderstandings and try to find the two of them the happy ending they deserve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everything

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted over on [tumblr](http://poorbeautifuldean.tumblr.com)

Dean stood at the end of the corridor watching Castiel calmly pulling books from his locker and placing them in his bag.  He watched Castiel’s hands as they moved, wondering how Cas could somehow make even such a simple, mundane task look graceful.  His own hands curled themselves into fists in the pocket of his hoodie as he steeled himself to the task at hand.  How hard could it be, really?  He’d been over it a million times in his head: he’d just walk up to Cas and ask if he wanted to go to prom together.  No big deal.  

Except for the part where it was actually a really huge deal, because Cas was his best friend and this had the potential to ruin everything.  

He thought he’d gotten pretty good at hiding his feelings over the last couple of years, but not from Sammy apparently.  He scowled at the memory of how Sam had badgered him about it until he finally confessed, and then somehow managed to convince Dean it would be a good idea to let Cas know how he felt.  He still wasn’t sure quite how Sammy had managed it - something about the way Cas apparently looked at him, though he was pretty doubtful about that part himself - yet here he was anyway.

The sound of Castiel’s locker slamming closed startled him from his thoughts and he took a deep breath, letting it out in a huff as he forced himself to walk over and join Castiel.

"Hey, Cas.  So you uh… you ready to walk home?" he asked, leaning casually against the lockers, frustrated by the tell-tale nervousness he could hear in his own voice.  

Castiel frowned slightly as he turned to face him, then merely shrugged as he hoisted his bag over his shoulder.  

"Of course, Dean," he answered quietly, stepping away from his locker.

Dean flinched at the sound of high-pitched giggling from nearby, catching sight of Lisa Braeden and a couple of the other cheerleaders whispering and glancing in his direction, and decided that maybe somewhere more private would be a better setting for his possible humiliation.

"Are you coming then Dean, or..?"

Castiel had stopped a few feet down the corridor and was looking back at Dean in confusion.  He felt himself flushing as he pushed himself off the lockers and hurried to catch up.  Castiel merely shook his head, an amused smile on his face, and started telling Dean all about someone’s botched experiment in his chemistry class that had resulted in a textbook in flames and three students needing a trip to the nurse.

Dean found himself zoning out as they walked, letting the mellow timbre of Castiel’s voice wash over him, once more running over the way he would ask him to prom.  It was one of his favourite things, listening to Cas talk and watching the way his hands fluttered about as though shaping words and pictures in the air; just one more of the many reasons he had ended up falling for the boy next door.  Castiel’s voice was rough yet somehow soothing, and Dean was frequently guilty of listening more to the tone and less to the actual words than he should.

"Dean, are you even paying attention?" Castiel suddenly demanded, tugging at Dean’s elbow and pulling him to a stop.

"Um… yes?" he replied weakly, attempting a charming grin, but suspecting he was only pulling off a sickly smile.

Castiel’s small huff of annoyance told him he wasn’t fooling anyone; a fact confirmed by Castiel gesturing behind him, saying pointedly, “You just walked past your own house, Dean.”

Dean glanced up to find Castiel looking directly at him, eyes narrowed, assessing, and realised they had indeed walked past Dean’s own house and were now standing outside the Novaks’.

"Oh," he said sheepishly.  "Yeah, that’s… Um… I guess maybe I was a bit distracted.  Sorry."

Castiel frowned, reaching out to lay a hand on Dean’s forearm, the heat of his palm feeling like a brand against Dean’s skin.

"What’s wrong, Dean?  You’ve been acting oddly since this morning.  Has something happened?"

The concern and worry in Castiel’s eyes made something twist in Dean’s gut and he shook his head quickly.

"No, Cas.  It’s nothing like that.  I’m fine, honestly."

Castiel continued to regard him anxiously, clearly not convinced, and Dean felt a wave of affection wash over him; it was so like Cas to be worried about him, to know that something was eating at him even when he tried to pretend it wasn’t.  Just another of the many reasons he’d fallen hopelessly in love with the boy next door. Dean swallowed thickly and straightened his shoulders.

"Honestly Cas.  I’m fine.  But I did have something I wanted to ask you.  And uh, you can totally say no if you want to… it’s fine, that’s fine… you know, no pressure, but uh… I wondered if you wanted to go to prom?  You know, like, uh… with me?"

Dean bit his lip, forcing himself to hold Castiel’s gaze, watching as a range of emotions seemed to chase themselves across the smooth planes of his face, confused when he saw what looked like hurt, which then quickly turned to anger.

"No, Dean," Castiel responded finally, his voice sharp.  "I don’t want to go to prom with you.  In fact, I can’t think of anything I’d like less," he spat, turning abruptly on his heel, striding away down the path to his own front door and slamming it behind him.

Dean stood, stunned, on the sidewalk, devastated by Castiel’s reaction.  Of all the things he’d imagined, it was never this.  He’d tried to find out how Cas felt, asking if he thought Dean should go with Lisa to try and draw him out, but Cas had told him merely to do whatever he wanted.  It had hurt, realising that perhaps Sammy was wrong and Cas didn’t care one way or the other, but he decided to be honest about his feelings and ask Cas anyway.  Cas was sweet, gentle and considerate, and Dean had thought there was a chance everything might still be okay between them even if Cas said no.  He would never have believed that Cas would reject him with such anger and loathing in his voice.

He drew in a ragged breath, feeling the tell-tale sting of tears, and turned towards his own house only to come face to face with a worried and confused-looking Sam.  

"Dean?" he asked tentatively.  "Are you okay?  I heard what…"

Dean let out a strangled sob, clamping his hand over his mouth in an attempt to stop the desperate sound, and pushed past Sam to get to their house, leaving the door wide open behind him.

Sam stood, bewildered, in the middle of the sidewalk, eyes flitting from one house to the other, before finally settling on the Novaks' front door.

***

It was Gabriel who finally answered, after repeated hammering, raising an eyebrow in surprise when he caught sight of Sam.

"Yo Sammy!  We don’t usually see you over here unless Dean’s done something stu-" he trailed off when Sam winced at his words and sighed heavily. 

"I wondered why Cas came storming in here like thunder," he continued.  "What’s Deano gone and done this time?"

Sam frowned.  "I don’t know, to be honest, but I need to talk to Cas.”

Gabe nodded, waving him towards the stairs.  "He’s in his room, sulking.  I swear, those two idiots will never get their act together.”

Sam headed up to Castiel’s room and knocked lightly on the door before cautiously pushing it open.  Castiel was sprawled on the bed, his face buried in the pillows, covers clenched tightly in his fists.

"Uh, Cas?" Sam called tentatively.  "Can I talk to you for a minute?"  He flinched when Castiel rolled over and sat up abruptly, glaring at him accusingly.

"Hello Sam.  Sent you in to apologise has he?  Well not this time.  This time he doesn’t get a free pass.  This one is not ok!"

Sam waved a hand frantically, shaking his head.  "No, Cas.  He doesn’t know I’m here.  He was too…” Sam broke off, knowing that Dean wouldn’t want Castiel to know just how upset he was.  "He doesn’t know, Cas," he repeated.  "I’m here because… well because _I_  don’t understand.  I mean… I thought you liked him,” he finished quietly.

Castiel gestured at him despairingly.

"I do Sam!  That’s exactly the point!  I like him, and then he asks me to prom as some… some  _pity_  date, just because Lisa never asked him and he doesn’t want to go by himself.  That’s not fair Sam, and he should know better than to treat me like that!”

Sam blinked in shock, stuttering, “What are you talking about Cas?”

"I’m talking," Castiel shot back scathingly, "About the fact that he’s been going on and on for weeks about whether the rumour was true that Lisa Braeden was going to ask him to prom, and whether he should say yes to her if she did."

"And what did you tell him?" Sam pressed gently, sinking into the chair by Castiel’s desk.

"That he should say yes if he wanted to, of course" Castiel answered, with a shrug.  "Anything else would have been selfish."

Sam sighed, muttering “Of course you did.”  He suddenly understood why Dean had been so reluctant to believe Cas might possibly return his feelings, since Cas had clearly gone out of his way to try and convince Dean he wasn’t bothered.

Castiel glared at him mutinously, before his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"And then I suppose she never asked him, and now it’s too late to find another date, so he just thought of good ole Castiel, because of course I don’t have a date.  Guess he thinks going as friends with me is better than nothing."

"But she did ask him" Sam blurted.  "She asked him last week, and he said no.  He didn’t tell you?"

Castiel blinked owlishly.  "What?"

"Cas, Lisa asked Dean to prom last week, and he said no because… well because he wanted to go with you, and not just as your friend."

Castiel snorted, shaking his head, his fingers twisting together in his lap.  "I don’t believe you, Sam.  Why would he…?"  He shook his head again.  "That can’t be true."

Sam leaned forward, trying to catch his gaze.  "If it’s not true, then why is Dean heartbroken?" he asked softly.  "If it’s not true, then why was he crying after you left just now?"

Castiel’s head jerked up sharply, his expression pained, eyes filling with horror.

"Oh God… I said I couldn’t think of anything worse than going with him" he groaned, and Sam nodded.

"I know.  But it’s not too late, you can still fix it.  Just… go and make it right, please?"  

His final words were uttered to an empty room as Castiel rushed past him and raced down the stairs.  

"Please…" he muttered, eyes raised to the ceiling. "Just talk to each other properly for once and do us all a favour."

***

Dean swiped futilely at the tears that refused to stop flowing.  He hadn’t know it was possible to feel this bad.  Within the space of five minutes, he’d been honest about his feelings for the first time ever, made himself more vulnerable than he’d ever been, and in return, had had his heart broken and apparently lost his best friend in the process.

He froze at a timid knock on the door, the back of his hand pressed to his mouth as he desperately tried to stifle the sobs, his chest burning.

"Go away Sammy," he managed to choke out, wincing at the tremor in his voice.  "Please, just leave me alone."

He waited for the sound of Sam’s footsteps retreating down the landing, shocked beyond belief when he heard Castiel’s voice instead.

"Dean, it’s not Sam.  It’s me.  I… May I come in?"

Dean bit down hard on his knuckle, unable to answer as fresh tears spilled down his cheeks.

"Dean?" Castiel repeated, slowly pushing the door open.  "Are you here?"

Dean drew his legs up to his chest, arms wrapped tightly round them, pressing his face into his knees to try to hide the evidence of his tears as Castiel stepped through the doorway.

"Dean I…" Castiel’s voice cracked as he caught sight of Dean.  "Oh, Dean… I’m so sorry" he whispered, dropping to his knees beside Dean on the bed.  

"I didn’t know," Castiel pleaded, long fingers reaching out tentatively to encircle Dean’s wrist.  "I didn’t know!  You mean everything to me, Dean, and I never would have said that, it’s just… I thought I was a consolation prize to you, something just about better than nothing, and it broke my heart because the way I feel for you couldn’t be further from that.  Dean, how was I supposed to know?  You never told me!"

Dean raised his head, dragging in a shaky breath, his chest constricting when his gaze met Castiel’s and he saw the expressive blue eyes shining with both sorrow, beseeching Dean to understand.

"Cas, you could never be just a consolation prize to me," Dean whispered, voice raw, as he turned his hand to lace his fingers with Castiel’s.  "You’re the most important, the most special."  

Dean glanced down at their joined hands, his thumb stroking the soft skin at the inside of Castiel’s wrist, before looking up again shyly.  

"You’re everything to me too, Cas," he admitted, blushing as a beaming smile broke out on Castiel’s face.

Castiel stretched out his other hand to cup Dean’s face, tenderly brushing away the dampness from his cheekbone as he leaned in and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to Dean’s lips.

"So Cas…" Dean murmured, resting their foreheads together.  "I take it this means you do want to go to prom with me after all?"

He felt Castiel’s smile against his own, felt him shake his head in incredulity, and butterflies took wing in his stomach when Castiel finally answered, his tone wry but fond.

"Yes, Dean.  I want to go to prom with you."


End file.
